Speech of William D. Haywood on the Case of Ettor and Giovannitti, May 21, 1912.

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SPEECH OF

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On the Case of

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ETTORAfJD

6I0VANNITT

Cocper Union, New York

Dedicated to the World's Workers,

In Behalf of Ettor and Giovannitii,

By the Speaker

PRICE FIVE CENTS

Published By The

OR-GIOVAKNITTI DEFENSE
COMMITTEE

Central $58^1 Lawrence
Building y$m$ Mass.

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OiiCZ=3{iDi l( IOI ' I=5 |D

NOBLE FIGHTERS FOR THE WORKERS' CAUSE

The pathway to civic liberty and Industrial freedom is
marked with blood, its mil re the cross, stake, gibbet.

guillotine, scaffold, and the firing squad. Shall the electric chair

ted to thai bloody list.-

ARTURO GIOVANNITTI JOSEPH J. ETTOR

In a prison cell, accused by capitalists' agents of a crime-
committed by a policeman.

Ettor and Giovannitti ori.-nnized the 85,000 I^awrence textile
workers, whose wages averaged less than six dollars per week
The bosses were defeated, the mill workers won.

"Let spies and legal k*pt men follow therr instructions and
swear against us, our only 'crime' is Loyalty to the Working Class,
and if death is to he the reward we will die with a song on our lips."

SPEECH OF WILLIAM D. HAYWOOD

At Ettor-Giovannitti Protest Meeting, Cooper
Union, May 21, 1912.

Haywood was greeted with tremendous
applause.
COMRADES AND FELLOW WORKERS :

It was the rumble of just applause that gave
me courage and strength when I was in the same
position as the men in whose behalf we are appeal-
ing to you tonight. I feel that my life must have
been preserved by you for such occasions as this ;
and I feel now that it is not me to whom you are
giving this magnificent reception, but the principles
for which I stand. (Applause). Your applause i3
but an echo of your hearts, but an echo of your own
desires ; and you realize that the men who are in
jail at Lawrence, are in jail because they are fight-
ing your battles. I felt that when I was in jail in
Boise. And I know that without the united action
of the workingmen and women of New York City,
of the state of New York, of the United States of
America and of the world, instead of appealing to
you here tonight on behalf of Ettor and Giovannitti,
my comrades and I would have been judicially
murdered by the authorities of the State of Idaho.
The mine owners of Colorado, like the woolen and
cotton kings of Massachusetts and the New England
states, had determined to bring about our death,
even as these vultures of capitalism intend to make
horrible examples of Ettor and Giovannitti.

THE VICTORY AT LAWRENCE

We have heard and are hearing much of the

Z WM. D. HAYWOOD

wonderful victory of the strike in Lawrence. What-
ever was achieved there in the way of victory was
not accomplished by Ettor and Giovannitti alone;
not accomplished alone by the men and women and
children who went to make up that one big union
of the working class ; but the success of the Law-
rence strike was largely due to the support and the
influence of the socialist movement of America.
(Applause). It was you who came to our relief.
When we made an appeal ior financial aid it was
the socialists who sent nearly three-fourths of all
the funds that were raised during that strike. It
was the working class of New York City, of Phila-
delphia, of Manchester and Barre, many of whom
were socialists, who took care of the children during
the long period of that industrial war. Without
the support of the socialists, the strike of Lawrence
could never have been won. (Applause). Without
the support of the socialist movement, no strike in
America can be won. (Applause). And without
the support, without the influence, without the
power of this great movement Ettor and Giovannitti
would be helpless tonight. But they have a right
to expect your support. They are of your class.
They are a part of the working class movement of
America. They have devoted their lives to improv-
ing the condition of the downtrodden and the sub-
merged, the unskilled and the unorganized, the
common and the despised laborer. Yes, they are
entitled to your support; and I know by your re-
sponse here and by the response that you will give
in the future and by the work that you will do
among your fellow workers in the workshop and in
your socialist locals, that Ettor and Giovannitti are
once again to see the sunlight and to carry the

ON ETTOR AND GIOVANNITTI 8

message of socialism to the working class.
WHAT ETTOR AND GIOVANNITTI DID

I remember the last occasion of my speaking
in this hall. It was a discussion between Comrade
Hillquit and myself. We were not agreed on that
occasion as to all points. We. are agreed tonight.
At the time of that discussion Joseph Ettor occupied
a seat in the audience. He had a telegram in his
pocket. You will remember, it was the 11th of
January. That telegram was urging him to come
to Lawrence. It came from that small part of the
working class that had already been organized by
the Industrial Workers of the World. It stated
that a strike was imminent. Ettor felt that he
ought to leave that night. He had some work to do.
After leaving the meeting he corrected manuscript
on a debate that he had had some time previous.
He sat up all night. And the next day he left
for Lawrence.

The strike was then unorganized — the workers
were in a state of chaos. Ettor showed a wonder-
ful ability, a remarkable personality, a magnetism
that few men are endowed with. It was Joseph J.
Ettor, supported by Arturo Giovannitti, who
brought together that great mass of humanity in
Lawrence, Massachusetts : 27 different nationalities,
speaking 48 different dialects, organized into one
big union; melted, welded, amalgamated so strong-
ly together that the capitalist class with all their
machinations were unable to make even a dent in it.

CAUSE OF THE LAWRENCE STRIKE

The strike, as you know, was against a reduc-
tion of wages. The legislature of Massachusetts, a
meddling lot of reformers, without taking into con-

4 WM. O. HAYWOOD

aideration at all what it meant, passed a law reduc-
ing the hours of labor of women and children from
56 to 54 hours a week — not taking into considera-
tion the. men. The mill owners, without drafting
any .Jaws, on their part immediately tried to dis-
place the women in the mills — they were more than
50 per cent— by employing men, it being their in-
tention to work the men 12 hours day and 12 hours
night shift. But the supply of men in the New
England states has about been exhausted. There
were not enough to take the places of the women.
-As many as there were, were employed. The
-mill owners, without drafting laws reduced wages,
when the 54-hour law went into effect ; they put
'their thieving fingers into the envelopes of 30,000
mill workers and from each and every envelope ex-
tracted an amount that averaged 30 cents for each
ndividual.

ALL FOR THIRTY CENTS

Thirty cents is a small sum, not enough to
turn a world upside down about. But for 30 cents
they turned Lawrence upside down. They put a
"bole through Schedule K, that changed the com-
plexion of presidential candidates. They made
some presidential candidates look like 30 cents.
Thirty cents amounted to a great deal to the tex-
tile workers. It was the difference between life
and death. You will think that this statement is
somewhat exaggerated. Knowing that these people
anust have been receiving some wages, certainly
they could have lived on 30 cents less. But re-
member: 30 cents was the difference between life
»nd death. You remember the children that were
sent to you to take care of, the first 119. When
ihey arrived in New York they were taken to the

ON ETTOR AND GIOVANNITTI 5

headquarters of the Socialist Party on 84th street
and after a repast they were critically 'examined by
a corps of physicians. It was found, as a result oft
such examination, that every one of those 11&
children was suffering from malnutrition, that is*.
starvation. And it was not the result of three or
fours days' hunger, but it was a chronic condition.
Those children had been starving from birth. They
had been starved in their mothers' wombs. AndS
their mothers had been starving before the children
were conceived.

A COMMON ORGAN WITH COMMON NEEDS

When the workers discovered that they hac
been robbed of another 30 cents — and it was but *-
continuation of robberies that reduced them to the
terrible condition that they were in-"— something?,
told them that action was necessary. They had no*
common tongue. They could not understand each*
other. They had been gathered together by the
cupidity of the mill owners as an old sea captain se-
lects his crew, of many tongues, so that there could
be no coming together of minds, so that there could
be no conspiracy, no mutiny, no strike, no under-
standing. But the mill owners overlooked the fact
that each one of their workers was equipped with*
an organ that spoke the same in all languages, anc
that recognized no religion, no color, no nationality.
They were equipped with a stomach. And they
knew that SO cents less in their envelopes meant a
corresponding shrinkage in their stomachs. They
knew that 30 cents less in the envelopes meant that
some of their children were that much nearer death.

And it was the Italians who shouted, Viva let
sciopero!" The Syrians responded, and all the
other workers joined in. They went out of tb.®

6 Wli. D. HAYWOOD

Wood mill. They went to the Washington mill
and they took all the workers with them. And
from there they went to the Low»r Pacific mills.
They approached the bridge across the canal ; the
mill owners seemingly had provided themselves for
such an occasion. They had a hydrant on the out-
side of the mill, guarding the approach of the
bridge. On this hydrant was affixed hose ; and
streams oi hot and c*r>ld water were turned upon
the strikers. They were drenched to the skin.
It made then. mad. They were excited, incited.
They went to a car loaded with palings and they
took those sticks of lumber and they went into the
mill and they broke the machinery ; they smashed
the windows; they tore the fabric out of the looms.
They destroyed much machinery, a few hundred
dollars' worth (laughter), as much perhaps as a
gang of Harvard students would destroy in one
night's debauch celebrating the winning of a foot
ball game.

THE COMING OF THE "GRAY WOLVES"

But it was enough. It was the excuse that
the mill owners wanted. They called on the mayor
for the police. And the mayor sent what police he
had. And the mill owners called again. And the
mayor sent the fire department to take the place of
policemen. Again they called. The mayor sent
all the detectives. And he called on the governor
for police. And the metropolitan police that we
call the gray wolves" came. They came from
Boston, from Haverhill, from Salem, from Lynn,
from Lowell. The town was crowded with police.
And the mill owners were hollering for more police.
And the mayor went to the saloons and gathered
up all the bums, the material out of which police

ON ETTOR AND GroVANNITTI 7

are made even in times of peace (Applause), and
he put a star upon the breast of each one of these
noble sons of Massachusetts, a club in their hand
and a six-shooter in their pocket, and he started
them against the strikers.

DOGS AND CHILDREN!

The strikers had gotten all over their excite-
ment. They were no longer angry. They were
marching the streets with bands of music : the Syr-
ians with their drum corps with its thrilling Oriental
tunes. The strikers kept step. No thought of
trouble. But the mill owners,, particularly Mr.
Burrell of the Duck mill, kept calling on the mayor
for the militia, calling on the governor for the mil-
itia. Mr. Burrell was the manager of the mill of
which Mr. Turner is president. The mere name
Mr. Turner" will not signify anything to you.
Mr. Turner is a man of many wives and some wards.
He married the last ward after he got rid of his
wives. She lived in Brooklyn. They took their
honeymoon. It was to Chicago. They had a pal-
ace train. Two Pullman cars were reserved for the
bride's dogs. When those two carloads of dogs ar-
rived in Chicago with their mistress they were
taken to a fashionable hotel, registered, assigned to
private rooms and were fed on the choicest cuts of
meat; porterhouse steak. Dogs eating porter-
house steak while the little children of Lawrence
were starving to death!

This was the man that wanted the militia. He
is the kind of man who own the militia. He is the
kind of man who use the militia to protect them in
their licentious luxury.

The militia came. And it came to Lawrence,
as it goes everywhere, to protect the property of

8 WM. D. HAYWOOD

the capitalist class. It did not come to police the
town of Lawrence. There was no need of police.
The people were quiet. But it came to protect the
brick and steel that go to make up the equipment
of the mills. And they came, as militia always
come, with murder in their hearts. (Applause).
And they committed murder.

THE MURDEROUS MILITIA

They killed John Rami, a Syrian boy, 16 years
old, too young to die; a bright beautiful boy. He
was out on the' picket line that morning with other
members of the band to which he belonged. He
had a cornet in his hand — the only weapon. A
soldier told him to move on. He didn't under-
stand the English language well, but saw by the
movements of the soldier that he meant that he
should go. He turned and was walking up the
sidewalk when the soldier plunged a bayonet in his
back. It pierced his lung. He fell to the side-
walk. They took him to the hospital, and a few
minutes after his arrival John Rami expired, the
first martyr of the Lawrence strike.

ANNIE LA PIZZA!

It was only a few days after that the police
killed Anna La Pizza. The picket line was out
that morning, 23,000 strong, an endless chain of
pickets. And the police began to crowd them ;
crowded them up Common street, up Union street,
down Broadway, until they were massed in so thick
that they could not move back any further. Then
the policemen began to club them. Some of the
sympathizers threw coal from the windows. The
strikers themselves threw snowballs and chunks of
ice at the policemen. And one of the policemen

ON ETTOR AND GIOVANNITTI 9

was hit with a chunk of coal or a chunk of ice on
the leg. It was the sergeant. He ordered the
policemen to pull out the guns. And as they did,
they fired. And officer Benoit is said to have fired
the shot that killed Anna LaPizza. Nineteen wit-
nesses saw him fire the shot. Anna LaPizza died,
the second martyr to the Lawrence strike.

The second day after she was killed, Joseph J.
Ettor and Arturo Giovannitti were arrested for being
accessories to her murder. Ettor or Giovannitti
would willingly have laid down their lives to
have saved the life of Anna LaPizza. (Applause.)
It was they who shed tears when they learned that
Anna La Pizza had been killed. They were two
miles away at the time, speaking at the German
meeting. Today they are in jail. They were held
without bail, although there was no witness to say
that they had had anything to do with the killing
of Anna LaPizza. There was no witness to say
that Joseph J. Ettor or Arturo Giovannitti had ever
spoken an inflammatory word all during the Law-
rence strike.

THE WORKERS' ONLY "VIOLENCE"

To read the record of the Lawrence strike is
to acknowledge that the Industrial Workers of the
World is pure in heart, that its conscience is clear
and that its hands are clean of any violent work.
(Applause). In that strike the workers knew their
power. They were organized to exert that power.
And the power that they possessed, was their pro-
ductive power. Though foreigners not having a
franchise, most of them women, many of them
children — still they had their economic power.
They had their labor power. They had the only
power that you have got. The only capital that

10 WM. D. HAYWOOD

you have got is the one which is done up in your
own hide. And they had just as much of that,
more valuable to the mill owners than yours would
be, because they were skilled in that particular line
of work. And they committed no violence except
that of removing their hands : big bands, delicatie
hands, baby bands ; some of them gnarled and torn
and crippled. But they removed those hands from
the machinery. And when they took those hands
away from the wheels of machinery the machinery
was dead. (Applause).

And that was the violence" of the Lawrence
strike. And there is nothing more violent, in the
eyes of the capitalist class, than to deprive them of
the labor power out of which they get all their
capital. There is nothing that will make the capi-
talist class so mad, that will make them froth at the
mouth so quickly as to see a working man with his
hands in his pockets, or a working woman with her
arms folded, or the little children playing with their
dolls or their tops or their marbles. If they belong
to the working army they want all those hands
busy. Not to see them busy means that the golden
stream has ceased to run into their coffers. And
this is what makes the capitalist class crazy. (Ap-
plause). This is what has driven them mad. They
see that while we realize that we have a tremendous
political power and we are every year preparing
ourselves to use that political power, there are those
of us who also understand the tremendous signifi-
cance of the power of our labor (applause) ; of the
industrial organization ; there are those of us who
know that the foreigners in Lawrence have no vote
because they have not been here long enough ; and
we know that the women couldn't vote, because
Massachusetts is not in China ; and we know that

ON ETTOR AND GIOVANNITTI 1 1

the children could not vote, that though they were
old enough to work, they were not old enough to
say under what conditions they should work. So
the only power that they had, was to organize on
the industrial field and withdraw from the mills
their economic power that the mill owners had been
so ruthlessly exploiting. And they went on strike.

A WONDERFUL STRIKE!

It was a wonderful strike, the most significant
strike, the greatest strike that has ever been carried
on in this country or any other country. Not be-
cause it was so large numerically, but because we
were able to bring together so many different
nationalities. And the most significant part of that
strike was that it was a democracy. The strikers
handled their own affairs. There was no president
of the organization who looked in and said, How-
dydo." There were no members of an executive
board. There was no one the boss could see ex-
cept the strikers. The strikers had a committee of
56, representing 27 different languages. The boss
would have to see all the committee to do any busi-
ness with them. And immediately behind that
committee was a substitute committee of another 56
prepared in the event of the original committee's
being arrested. Every official in touch with affairs
at Lawrence had a substitute selected to take his
place in the event of being thrown in jail.

All the workers in connection with that strike
were picked from material that in the mill was re-
garded as worth no more than $6 or $7 a week.
The workers did their own bookkeeping. They
handled their own stores, six in number. They
ran eleven soup kitchens. There were 120 investi-
gating cases for relief. They had their own finance

12 WM. D. HAYWOOD

committee, their own relief committee. And their
work was carried on in the open, even as this social-
ist meeting is being conducted, with the press on
hand, with all the visitors that wanted to come,
the hall packed with the strikers themselves. And
when this committee finally reduced itself to ten to
make negotiations with the mill owners it was
agreed before they left that they must meet the
mill owners alone.

NO COUNSELLORS NEEDED

When they arrived in Boston they found that
the mill owners had their lawyers on hand. The
strikers objected to the presence of the lawyers.
And Mr. Wood the great financier said, Oh, we
must have our counsel, we must have our attorneys. ' '
'Why?" one of the strikers said, Don't you
think that you can take care of your end of it as
well as we can of ours?" If you insist on having

your lawyer, Congressman Henry, why we will
have to send down to Lawrence and bring up our
advisor Haywood." They finally concluded that
they could get along without counsellors on either
side. Time and again we hear it said that the
workers can't do this business for themselves ; that
they haven't the education, they haven't the in-
telligence. And now remember that those Law-
rence strikers were on the very lowest stratum.
They were receiving wages so low that there were
none who had a job so mean that he would leave it
to come and scab in Lawrence. They were the
people who were said to be the scum of Europe.
But they could conduct their own business. And
they conducted it successfully.

You will remember now that when the strike
was declared, it was to prevent a reduction of wages

ON ETTOR AND GIOVANNITTI IS

of 30 cents. When the strike was organized the
strikers demanded the reduction of hours, a rein-
statement of the 30 cents, and a general increase
of 15 per cent. In the course of negotiations the
adjustment was finally made on the basis of five
per cent for the highest paid, and 25 per cent for
the lowest paid, (applause), those who needed it
most ; time and a quarter for overtime ; readjust-
ment of the premium system, and no discrimination
against any man or woman or kid for the part that
they took in the strike. You know, at the time of
the great anthracite strike of 1902, John Mitchell,
the greatest labor leader that the world has ever
known" (laughter) said that in all great battles
there are some soldiers that must fall. That is, he
said, in effect, that there can be a limited blacklist
established. But the Lawrence strikers, the "ig-
norant workers," said, "We will have no fallen
soldiers ; not in this battle." Out of their own
wisdom they said there would be no blacklist.
And there was no blacklist.

NO RACE PREJUDICE TOLERATED

There was a great and wonderful organization,
an organization where we saw the Italian coming
to the Turk notwithstanding that the war was go-
ing on in Tripoli, and inviting him to come up to
his kitchen for soup. (Applause). You could see
the German reaching across a mulligan stew shak-
ing hands with a Frenchman. No question of
nationality. 1 have spoken to those Italians in a
meeting and asked them what country they be-
longed to. And they said, "The Industrial Work-
ers of the World. " (Applause).

Nor did that limit their perception. When
they saw the power that they had, they realized

14 WM. D. HAYWOOD

the necessity of controlling the city in which they
lived. And after the strike we find the Socialist
Party growing by the hundreds every meeting night.
You say the workers can't conduct their own
affairs. Let me tell you that in that strike all the
money was handled by the strikers. The books-
were not well kept ; there will be some questions
perhaps as to the disbursement of the funds, and
the manner in which they were receipted for. But
just remember this ; that when we grow a little
bigger we are not going to run a revolution with a
set of books. My advice to the workers there at
the time the injunction was issued, was to burn the
books. (Applause). If it had not been for the fact
that a financial report had been asked for, we would
have burned the books.

DEMOCRACY OF THE STRIKE

Get used to the manner in which a revolution-
ary strike is conducted. Figure in your own minds-
as to what it is going to amount to. Remember,,
there were as many as 50,000 people, men, women
and children on relief during the latter part of that
strike, and something less than $80,000 to take
care of them for ten weeks. So they handled the
finances well. They handled their strike com-
mittee well.

When the report came from the mill owners
that the concessions were granted, the ten mem-
bers of the committee brought it to the 112 mem-
bers. The 112 members carried it out to the dif-
ferent nationalities, where it was voted upon. And
when the different nationalities accepted it they
met on the Common. Now remember, the town
hall meetings in New England states are lawful.
Their action is legal. But we didn't have a town

ON KTTOR AND GIOVANNITTI 15

hall big enough to hold 27,000. So they met
under the vaulted blue tabernacle, on the Common.
Do you question whether this organization be-
lieves in political action or not? There on the
Common the proposition was submitted to the
strikers. And I saw men, womem and children
vote for an increase in wages, for a reduction of
hours, for better shop conditions. And that is po-
litical action. Every mass action of the working
class against the capitalist class is a political action.

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE IMPENDING TRIAL

And now we are here asking you tonight for
more of that kind of action. I wish it were possible
for the workers of this country to realize the tre-
mendous significance of the impending trial in Law-
rence. If you could realize that any one of you
who addresses a handful of men might at some fu-
ture time following the speech that you make, be
sent to jail and tried for murder or any crime that
comes out of it. No matter even though you had
only said the Lord's prayer at the meeting — the
fact that you had addressed a gathering and some
crime was perpetrated over which you had no con-
trol and which, if you had known about, you would
have done anything to prevent — that is the con-
dition you are confronting. Now, there is a manner
in which the lives of these men can be saved. When
the four cigarmakers in Tampa, Florida, were sent
to .jail the cigarmakers' union, 10,000 strong, went
on a general strike demanding a writ of habeas
corpus, and the second day of that strike the men
were released from jail. When Durand, the secre-
tary of the coal heavers' union in France, addressed
a meeting at Rouen, two months later a man was
killed. Durand was arrested and charged with

16 WM. D. HAYWOOD

murder^-as a result of his alleged incendiary speech
sometime previous. The labor unions of France
took up his cause and they threatened a general
strike. The result was that the sentence was com-
muted. Instead of the guillotine he was given 12
years in prison. But the workers said, No; if
you can send Durand to prison for twelve years you
can send any or all of us to prison. Either throw
open the doors or put him to the guillotine." And
they went on with their agitation for a general
strike. And the result was that the doors of the
prison were thrown open and Durand stepped forth
a free man.

Here you have the same power. It is going
to require all the power you have got. You will
have to work harder for Ettor and Giovannitti than
you worked even for Moyer, Haywood and Petti-
bone. The capitalist class are feeling j'our strength.
They see the tremendous growth of socialism ; they
are going to stop that growth if they possibly can.
They are going to stop the growth of unionism.
It will require your every effort. And let me ap-
peal to you tonight, comrades, one and all to stand
shoulder to shoulder, hand in hand, heart to heart
and mind to mind, and you can do for Ettor and
Giovannitti even as you did for me. (Tremendous
applause).

GET ACQUAINTED WITH

INDUSTRIAL UNIONISM

ETTOR and GIOVANNITTI are in
jail for leading the Lawrence strike to
success according to Industrial Union
methods.

With the Working Class organized
according to Industries great improvement
and emancipation are possible.

Industrial Unionism is growing by
leaps and bounds. Get acquainted with
ana join the Union of your Class.

Industrial Unionism is by and for the
Working Class.

SEND ALL FUNDS

intended for the EUor-Giovarmitti Defense
to WILLIAM YATES, Treasurer, Central
Building, Lawrence, Mass.

FUNDS SOLICITED! Also address
Yates (or all information relating to indus-
trial Unionism.

ETTOR-GIOVANNim
DEFENSE COMMITTEE,
Central Building, Lawrence, Mass.

W. E. Trautmann, Secretary
Wm. Yates, Treasurer

W. D. Haywood,

W. E. Trautmann,

Wm. Yates,

Elizabeth Gurley Flynn,

Francis Miller,

Augustus Detollenaere,

Josephine Liss,

Guido Mazzarelli,

Defense Committee.